My travel in Andalusia (2nd step)
Then we go to dinner, and as the tapas lunch were tasty but a little heavy, we try to go to an Italian restaurant, we go to the "As usual seat" located just behind the church of El Salvador and after the busy square by young people, who stand to eat tapas and chips, dinner in the evening because it is cold (which is 22), Italian and Spanish menu, we choose Italian dishes, prices are at levels Italians.
Let's go back to the hotel via the Calle Sierpes, elegant shopping street.
March 29: Visit to the Cathedral and Giralda (opens to 11, before doing a lap around the monument to be aware of the scale.
The cathedral was built in the fifteenth century in place of a mosque, which left only the Giralda (the minaret was the mosque) and the Patio de Los Naranjos (courtyard of orange trees) and partly the Puerta del Perdon, as well as some element decorative.
Enter (I pay 1.5 euros, but the price is 7 to skull audioguide euro 3.5 each), the visit, (pity that there are some areas of work) following the audioguide, admire, closed by a magnificent grid of wrought iron, the large carved wooden Retablo of the Capilla Mayor, with scenes of the life of Christ and the Virgin Mary, the sides are the saints of the city, difficult to approach, with the tourists who crowded to take pictures, go to Capilla Real (Plateresque style), the Great Sacrestia, the treasure of the cathedral, the chapels at the sides, in particular visit the Chapel San Antonio with two masterpieces of Murillo, the monumental tomb of Christopher Columbus.
Climb the Giralda walk along the easy climb from the cathedral, the Moorish windows, some with small balconies, offers a magnificent panorama of the city, the location is easy to climb (originally passed the horses), we arrive the top, of course, very crowded, which has a magnificent panorama of the city.
We descend and rest in the shade of orange trees Patio de los Narajos, one of the few remains of the mosque, used by Muslims to the ablutions (not to be missed), of course, in addition to the fountains are orange with small channels that the brought the water fountain across the patio.
In the afternoon we head to the Casa de Pilatos, (8 euros a head for the complete visit)
The name is due to the fact that in the Way of the Cross that took place at Easter in this building there was a station named after Pontius Pilate.
One enters the Principal Patio, a charming courtyard surrounded by arches supported on columns, the fountain in the middle of white marble, the walls are adorned with beautiful arabesques and azulejos, niches with statues and busts of the characters of antiquity (Cicero, Hannibal, etc.) no less valuable the various rooms, with walls decorated with finely azulejos.
Before returning to the hotel, we do a tour with another circular line (C3).
Then dinner "As usual place", not before having made four passes for the modern and pedestrianized Calle Sierpes, the most commercial, crowded as always, among other things is also Saturday.
March 30: Second Stage: Cordoba
At 9 we take the train to Cordoba, we arrived at 10.20 in good time, the train is clean and modern.
From the station, a bus takes us close to the Mezquita, the monument is located near the Guadalquivir (which has a less majestic air of Seville) and the Roman bridge (of which there remain only 12 arches upon which, some have been added by the Arabs after the conquest of the city.
We start the visit from the Jewish Quarter (Juderia), located close to the Mezquita, the district is largely pedestrianized, we walk along narrow streets with white houses with the typical patio, visit the Campo Santo de los Martires, a beautiful piazza shaded, in memory of Christians killed during the Muslim domination, and the small synagogue of 1315 (free for EU citizens), with Mudejar style decor, overlooking the Zoco (market, now a craft shop), the remains of medieval wall (Puerta de Almodovar).
Let us go then to the Mezquita, the most famous monument of the city.
Externally, apart from the impressive size, is quite simple, seems to see a fortress, the high walls are interrupted by the various ports, the Puerta de San Esteban (year 855) I think it is the oldest and most interesting.
The mosque was built in place of a Visigothic church, which the Arabs subjected over time to many extensions, then the Catholic Kings built a monumental Baroque cathedral.
Enter (8 euros per head, 4 for me, plus the usual audio 3.5 euros), the back door Santa Caterina), we are in the Patio de los Naranjos, then we enter the church and we are surprised about the "forest of columns"
So I called the 850 columns that give a sense of infinity (in the past 1260), some are from other Roman and Visigothic African columns based on the magnificent arches, pity that when we were being visited major renovation works, do not miss the Mihrab, a masterpiece of Islamic art, niche oriented towards Mecca, admire the magnificent blue and gold mosaics, the representation of the tree of life symbol of eternity.
Even the Christian is one of the finest achievements of Spanish, the Capilla Real (1258) is decorated in Mudejar style, the building has Gothic and Baroque.
Before leaving, we rest a while 'to the Patio of Los Naranjos, then train back to Seville.
E 'last night that we are in Seville, we welcome as it deserves, by going into a restaurant with specialties of the area, decide to return to Casa Manolo.
We usually receive the waiter of the drawings, broad smiles, when changing to serve the other tables, it makes us see the dishes and the menu shows, then we serve wine, beer, bread, some samples of vegetables and shrimp in a sauce all'aglio , guisantes (beans) with jambon, lomo de cerdo baked, Catalan cream, all for 41 euros in two.
March 31:
morning devoted to the popular neighborhood of Triana, on the right bank of the river, in the past quarter gitano, the white walls of houses, nice plates that recall the azulejos, visit the church of Santa Ana (1280), one of the oldest in Seville, surrounded by many legends, the style is Gothic Mudejar, within a beautiful Retablo of the sixteenth century, then we go to the Plaza del Altozano and the Calle de Castilla, with its patio, we visit the Chapel of patronage.
I decide then riattraversare the bridge and walk on the riverside, I approach the Torre de Oro, the defensive tower built by Muslims, I am going to the Plaza de Toros La Maestranza, the namesake theater el'Hospital de la Caridad with its typical baroque facade Capilla and with typical azulejos panels.
About the arena La Maestranza, I noticed that bullfights are not very important, in fact, if not passed before all'arena, we would not have even known that during the period of our stay, there were fights, there are more the posters in almost all the windows of shops or in the streets as before.
Lunch with tapas in a restaurant (bad) and outdoors in the sun to the streets of El Salvador, populated as always, fortunately I am a worker who had come for a few minutes in the church of El Salvador (restructuring), with a hasty visit.
Then departure by train for the last stage Granada.